Manchester City midfielder Rodri believes his side are heading into their clash against Arsenal on Sunday with the mentality to win.
The Gunners thrashed the Cityzens 5-1 when both sides met at the Emirates Stadium last season, with the first leg ending in a 2-2 draw at Etihad.
Rodri suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury in the 2-2 draw, which forced him to miss the remainder of the season.
Man City struggled in the absence of the Ballon d’Or holder, eventually losing their league crown to Liverpool, while ending the season without a major silverware.
This season, they have started the season quite slowly, recording two wins and two defeats in their first four league matches.
They began the season with a 4-0 success at Wolves, before losing back-to-back games against Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton and Hove Albion.
However, Pep Guardiola’s side have bounced back to form with two straight wins. The first was a 3-0 victory in the Manchester derby last Sunday, before another 2-0 win over Napoli in the UEFA Champions League on Thursday.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal team, on the other hand, are unbeaten in the last four league matches between both sides.
They have won four of their five matches in all competitions this season, with their lone defeat coming in a 1-0 result at Anfield.
Rodri confident of success for Man City
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s clash, the Spanish midfielder revealed that his side’s mentality has always been to win.
“Yeah, we’re going with the mentality to win in there (the Emirates Stadium). I don’t care what happened in the last season, I don’t care”, Rodri revealed in the prematch interview.
“We have the level to go there and show, again, our best shape. And yeah, we know they (Arsenal) are an unbelievable team; they reformed the team every single year with incredible signings and every day they’re potentially better and better, like every single team”, he continued.
“But yeah, I don’t know; it’s the beginning of the season, but it will be a good message for them (Arsenal) if we go there and win in their home. So this is, I think, our mentality.”
